As a former Marine combat officer and Vietnam veteran, I took time on Veterans Day to imagine each of our presidential contenders in the office of commander in chief. Surprisingly, I find that Sen. Hillary Clinton presents the strongest, surest, most balanced leadership by far, and I would follow her unflinchingly in wartime or in peace.

In both action and word, she has been unwavering in her support for improved programs for veterans and military families. With her experience on the Senate Armed Services Committee, she has unique insight into national defense preparedness. She will restore our credibility in the world and get us out of Iraq expediently and responsibly.

Most of us serve because we care passionately about our country and the futures of our children and grandchildren. That said, I am weary of the current administration’s underfunding of programs for our returning and aging veterans. Hillary Clinton has named this the shame that it is, and has pledged to fulfill the nation’s contract with veterans, rather than leaving a large proportion of them homeless, disconnected from appropriate health and mental health care.
We need a commander in chief who can both lead and care; Hillary is the right balance. Next Veterans Day, it is my fervent hope that we will also be celebrating her election as our next president.

Larry E. Drake, Denver

Re: “Clinton names first full-time Colo. staffer,” Nov. 9 news story.

In your article, you failed to note that months ago, Bill Richardson named Polly Baca to his Colorado presidential steering committee, which has been going full force — with volunteers — since last spring. You’ve also failed to follow up your story on firsts — female candidate Hillary Clinton and African-American Barack Obama — with one on Richardson, the first Hispanic presidential candidate.

You under-coverage of the most qualified candidate is appalling. Bill Richardson has been New Mexico U.S. representative, spent months during President Bill Clinton’s term traveling to foreign countries for diplomatic missions, including the release of many U.S. hostages held by foreign regimes. He has been U.N. ambassador and secretary of energy. He is now New Mexico’s governor, elected overwhelmingly for his second term, and his team has raised New Mexico quality-of-life indicators significantly. He deserves coverage.

Readers: If The Post won’t cover Richardson for president, you owe it to yourselves to visit his website: www.richardsonforpresident.com.

Kathy Glatz, Denver

Re: “Giuliani tries to show he’s a regular joe,” Nov. 11 news story.

The Post devoted one-third of its article about Rudy Giuliani to 9/11 conspiracy hecklers, even giving readers a website. A lot of space for baseless accusations.

Valid complaints against Giuliani regarding Sept. 11 include that he never established a clear chain of command between police and firefighters, and that he failed to equip the fire department with working two-way radios, both big issues since the WTC bombing in 1993. While police had eight minutes to call back their officers after helicopter pilots reported the South tower would soon collapse, fire rescuers inside the buildings could not receive the call with their outmoded radios. One hundred and twenty-one firefighters died. A mayor with “foreknowledge” — and presidential aspirations — would have fixed this long ago to avoid such a glaring proof of negligence.

The claim that 9/11 was an “inside job” is breathtakingly absurd because it requires thousands of co-conspirators and would therefore come to light with absolute certainty.

Martin Voelker, Golden

I realize Sen. John McCain was blindsided at a candidate forum with the question, “How do we beat the bitch?” But I am really, really disheartened that he would not condemn such vitriol.

It is wholly inappropriate to attack any of our public servants in such a manner and I would have expected him to defend Sen. Hillary Clinton. While he obviously has differences with her, she serves in a capacity, as does he, of supporting our nation’s democracy and deserves respect. As for personal attacks on her, there really should be no place within the dialogues of a presidential candidate’s campaign.

Mike McClung, Denver

John Edwards is the most electable Democratic candidate. Edwards ranks high on trust and sincerity of position. These are two attributes that voters look for in candidates. In addition, Edwards at the top of the Democratic ticket would mean that swing voters in red states would have an alternative to the GOP candidate.

Democrats need to choose our candidate wisely. Republican analysts are coming out of the woodwork with analysis that indicates their candidate of choice is Sen. Hillary Clinton. Why? Because they feel that the best way to solidify their agitated base and to bring swing voters into the GOP camp is for Sen. Clinton to get the nomination. These Republican analysts are also saying that a Democrat can’t win in some places in the South, Midwest or West. These Republican pundits are simply wrong. The right Democratic presidential nominee, someone like John Edwards who shares middle-class and working poor family values, a candidate who understands middle class and working poor family issues, and most importantly a candidate who offers real and bold solutions from the corrupt status quo can win in these states.

When all attributes (likeability, trust, sincerity, experience, leadership for change) are factored in, only one candidate has national appeal. That candidate is John Edwards.

Jim L. Blackwell, Lenexa, Kan.

I thought that, with all this way-too-early debating, hand-shaking and baby-kissing, a little doggerel might be in order.

Hillary here and Hillary there,
And Barack Obama, too,
Why aren’t they back in the Senate
Which is what they’re paid to do?

Could you please stop printing articles which call Hillary Clinton the “presumptive” Democratic nominee, just because she is currently leading in certain polls? First of all the term is historically inaccurate, since the person who has led the polling before the primaries for the last several elections has not ended up being the Democratic party’s nominee. Read more…

Kathleen Parker is a political genius. The thought of “first lady” Bill Clinton, baking cookies in boxers-or-briefs, will cost “Mrs. Slick” a lot when Americans close the curtain to vote. We perhaps do have “TMI” to promote a Clinton dynasty.

Sounds like the current Mrs. Giuliani has a Nancy Reagan persona. Shall we ever remove John Kennedy from icon-status for his cheating on Jacqueline? Times have changed indeed. I think the editorial cartoon about “family values” rang hollow. Gays have changed the value of that phrase.

Does Giuliani and Rice sound like something you might order at a Cajun restaurant? Does Hillary and Obama sound like an All Star wrestling team? Does mainstream media believe in term limits, or diversity, for their own political pundits?

The person who should become president is the person who can become president. Who the president sleeps with is not as important to me as who they confide in and what they stand for.

I take great exception with the author’s assertion, based on having lived in New Mexico from 1989 until just recently. The NM state legislature is dominated by Democrats who refuse to allow voter identification at the polls because open voter fraud is commonplace, and not by Republicans. Charges are NOT “bogus” as the author claims. When Senator Dominici and Representative Heather Wilson wrote to the US attorneys asking that action be taken it was entirely legal and appropriate. When their letters induced no actions, the two attorneys were fired. Read more…

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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The idea log The Denver Post editorial board shares commentary and opinion on issues of interest to Coloradans.